Following on from the three pre-EFL Cup press conferences we heard on Monday, it’s now the turn of Mikel Arteta to face the media.
The Arsenal boss spoke to journalists on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Gunners’ midweek clash with Chelsea.
Here are the key updates.
ARSENAL
Piero Hincapie will miss Wednesday’s meeting with Liam Rosenior’s troops, having picked up an injury in the goalless draw with Liverpool last Thursday.
Riccardo Calafiori remains out, too. He hasn’t featured since Christmas because of a muscular issue.
The Gunners also have concerns over Leandro Trossard and William Saliba going into the clash with the Blues. Both missed Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Portsmouth.
“[Hincapie and Calafiori] are not available yet. The other doubts that we have are Willy and Leo.” – Mikel Arteta
“We don’t know yet.” – Mikel Arteta when asked if Arsenal know the extent of Piero Hincapie’s injury, following yesterday’s scan
“He’s progressing but we don’t know [how long]. I think it will be a matter of a few weeks probably but we don’t know exactly when.” – Mikel Arteta on Riccardo Calafiori
Max Dowman (ankle) and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) also remain sidelined.
“Very similar injuries, very similar timeframes. Both evolving really well but they’re not training yet so they’re still a few weeks away.” – Mikel Arteta on Max Dowman and Christhian Mosquera
Kai Havertz made a playing return as a substitute at Fratton Park following a lengthy spell out. Arteta says the Gunners will be careful with the German going forward.
“We have to manage his minutes now, but he had a good block of 20-25 minutes the other day. He trained really well again today, it’s now a case of building his robustness and make sure that he’s available for every game.” – Mikel Arteta on Kai Havertz
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